Melbourne · Independent journal · How ideas become buildings in Australia
Street to precinct
Australian cities are argued as skylines and sold as apartments. The work is in the setback, the laneway, the finance stack and the neighbour who will object. This hub stays at that scale.
Image: Donaldytong. CC BY-SA 3.0. See the image credits.
Cities
A masterplan is a picture of a place. Finance is a sequence of cash that has to survive pre-sales, infrastructure charges and a bank that will not fund a park. Pretty drawings stall when nobody can say who pays first.
James Okonkwo · 6 September 2026
Cities
Missing middle is a slogan until it meets height, setbacks, parking, winter shadow and a character clause. Councils approve the scheme that can be measured. They refuse the scheme that asks them to like it.
James Okonkwo · 6 August 2026
Cities
Most Australian density is decided at the side fence and the rear lane, not on the skyline. Overlooking, waste, fire access and a setback you can measure are the neighbour’s brief. Ignore them and the street will write them for you.
James Okonkwo · 2 July 2026
Cities
A plaza that nobody owns is a maintenance problem with pavers. Shade, seats, edges and a ground-floor use have to be designed as a place and funded as an asset, or the leftover will show as soon as the flags come down.
James Okonkwo · 11 June 2026
Cities
Dual occupancies and townhouses fail when they turn a street into a parking court. Lot amalgamation, a front garden and a door you can see from the footpath are how extra dwellings still look like a place someone meant.
James Okonkwo · 27 April 2026
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